I always enjoy hearing from you, our valued customers. And I especially enjoy it when you talk to independent third-parties and confide in them about the kind of job we’re doing. I enjoy it because that’s one of the best mechanisms we have to ensure we’re meeting – or, better still, exceeding — your service needs. Independent surveys help us to stay on track.
So it pleases me greatly to report that our customer service track, based on your comments to Nielsen, a highly trusted independent resource of consumer opinions, looks straight and smooth.
The data collectors and number crunchers at Nielsen surveyed 90,000 mobile phone users in the fourth quarter of 2014 about the level of customer service those users experience from their respective carriers. Consumer Cellular earned the highest satisfaction rating of all companies surveyed in three very important categories: customer service, price and network quality.
As you can imagine, as co-founder of Consumer Cellular, I keep close track myself on what matters most to mobile phone customers. Did you know the two most popular reasons people switch carriers are price and network quality?
I feel that’s good news for us because those are two areas of service in which we are fully committed to delivering what you need. That’s why we have cellphone plans as low as $10 a month and offer affordable phones and plans. It’s also why we use the largest wireless networks in the country, giving you vast, clear coverage throughout the United States. It’s why we offer special discounts to AARP members. And it’s why we make a point of keeping all our customer service centers in the U.S. We even expanded those service centers recently to serve you even better.
Now, back to that survey… What else did our customers tell Nielsen Ratings? Out of all the carriers, our customers indicated they’re the least likely to switch to a different carrier.
Thank you, loyal customers, for supporting what we do. I encourage you to stick around–there’s so much more ahead.
I unfortunately am not one of the happy Consumer Celluar customers at this time. I recently had a problem and when I called to have it resolved, I did not get any resolution. I had upgraded my service as advised to the next level wasn’t advised at the time it was only the DATA Plan being upgraded, I thouhgt the entire service was upgraded at once and my Voice Plan ran over. I would have upgraded both had I known it was not all together as a service and broken down as I thought under one plan. It was not advised to me that I upgrade both at the time and I thought it included everything. I was and am very disappointed.
We certainly apologize for any frustration caused by this. Our plans are separated into Voice and Text Messaging and Data, and you are correct in that an update to your Text and Data plan will not change your Voice plan. We recommend that our customers enable our Usage Alerts, which will be sent to you if you are in danger of going over your plan so that issues like this don’t arise. We would be happy to discuss this issue further with you if you would like. Please give us a call at 888-345-5509, and we would be pleased to assist. Thank you again!
I too am very upset with Consumer Cellular. My data usage kept topping out causing me to repeatedly upgrade to the more expensive level. Since they do not offer an unlimited plan I decided to transfer to another company. I wanted to keep my number and it was supposed to be ported to the new server. Instead Consumer Cellular released my number and deactivated my phone. I had to get a new number and buy a new phone. Also I was without cell service for 5 days. I was informed that this is common for Consumer Cellular not to release numbers. I am warning everyone I know not do business with Consumer Cellular.
Thanks for posting, Nancy. I’m very sorry to hear you had a negative experience with us. If you need any assistance, we would be happy to take a look at your account and see if we can address this issue. Can you give us a call at 888-345-5509? We would very much appreciate the opportunity to discuss this. Thank you.
That was a weak reply.
I was able to review your account, Nancy and your number is still available for transfer to another carrier. We’ve noted your account so that this process can be completed quickly if you are able to contact us sometime within the next week. The best number to reach us is 888-345-5509, and we look forward to resolving this for you.
Hey, I’m sorry to hear about your experience Nancy. I do not have service with CC, but am thinking about switching. I personally would like to know whether immediately releasing numbers of customers who want to change to a carrier other than CC for whatever reason is a common practice or not. Of course, if so many other customers are satisfied enough NOT to switch, then maybe the answer is [obviously] no. But what about the rest? Is this a policy or practice of CC for all people, for certain people, for ANY people?
I wanted to preface my real reason for posting here with these remarks, so as not to be insensitive to the last poster and her disappointment. But I did want to give a positive review. Hopefully her number can be restored. I had a similar experience with another carrier, and I had to ‘go through hell’ to get my number back – one of the main reasons for wanting to switch. Talking to their customer service was like talking to a bunch of paid zombie robots! I was reluctantly told [after having my phone RE-activated] that when someone cancels their service (in MY case due to reasons beyond my control) they have 59 days from the date of cancellation before the number would be [truly] released. I reactivated it on a cheap plan of there’s so I could have time to THINK about what I wanted in a new phone and provider. Frankly, the entire experience wore me out so much, that I wouldn’t have cared much about getting a new number. Anyway, that’s where the following comments come in and the real reason for me wanting to post anyway.
I was on the phone with a man named Wayland earlier tonight who was representing CC. I had just discovered CC and had questions about the network used. I am also thinking about upgrading my phone and service before too long. We had a great conversation, and he shared my views on customer service as compared to pushy and manipulating telecom sales people (who DON’T really care about the NEEDS of those they are selling to), as well as my views on Net neutrality [an open Internet policy], and such like, and he listened to my first impressions of CC BEFORE I made the call. I don’t know if I will choose CC at this time or not – whether I had read Nancy’s post or not – or whether I would be able to reach him or not again, but I wanted him to hear a bit more about my impressions of CC before and after I spoke with him.
In a nutshell, the brochure I picked up at Target the other night, stood out from EVERY OTHER ONE there. CC’s brochure showed you exactly what they were offering, what (and EVERYTHING) a person needed to get started with their service, with a coverage map, and in the simplest, most straightforward terms. It was well-laid out and in order, appealing to others from their own beliefs. After reading it I thought, now HOW SIMPLE can THAT BE! What more could one ask for, I thought? It covered ALL bases – except those I called about ((:: – and made it so easy for anyone to buy a phone and get the service they were looking for in the first place! No fluff, no jargon, and…. NO FINE PRINT! That’s one thing that was evident to me after my call with Wayland. Every other brochure had all this fine print (which was difficult to read for sure), but isn’t what people want to do or read! CC had NO fine print in there advertisement. So I would trust them more than those who do otherwise. The other thing was my experience with the rep himself. HE’s what someone in that capacity SHOULD be doing. Treating the customer as he would want to be treated if HE was buying a phone/plan/etc. He represented CC to me. The CEO, above stated that most people choose CC for the price and network quality. I knew once I found out who owned the networks that BOTH of these were not in question. For me, then, it would be the customer service. And he did what he did, naturally, not in a phony way. So, I want to commend CC for hiring such as Wayland.
If I decide to try the service, I most likely will go to a Sears or Target store and have them set me up with everything I need. I WAS thinking, however, it would have been nice to give him my email while on the phone together and have him do the activation solely because I wanted him to know not only my sincere appreciation for his understanding and helpfulness, but that his conduct made me follow through and get on board with Consumer Cellular. That’s a good rep. and I hope you will tell him so. I think I will end here.
Thank you so much for your kind words. We always love hearing from people who have had a great experience with our support team because they really are terrific. In regards to porting your number in or out, every carrier is different, and it is a process that is best carried out with our customer support team. We really appreciate the feedback about your process, and please let us know if we can answer any questions for you. Our support team is ready at 888-345-5509, and they can talk to you about the activation process once you’ve purchased your phone. Also, we do offer a free SIM card at our retail locations, so you can indeed bring your own unlocked, GSM phone to our service.
Once again, we appreciate you taking the time to let us know about your experience, and we hope to earn your business. Thank you!
I am a partially satisfied customer. In May I bought a new phone (Moto G) and was happily able to call from just about anywhere, including at my desk at work. However, for the last few months I have NOT been able to use my phone while at my desk at work. I’ve even tried making calls near an outside window without success. I keep getting “Mobile network not available”. This really stinks because I’d like to make personal calls during my lunch break. What happened?
That sounds frustrating, Deb. Sometimes a simple power cycle is all a phone needs to make a better connection with the cellular towers. If you’ve given that a try, we can check your settings and try some troubleshooting if you give us a call. The best number is 888-345-5509, and we can work with you to get that issue resolved. Thank you for letting us know!
The adds on TV brag about cost yet your fees are as high as Verizon with no where the benefits.
Is it possible your company is a joke? Bye!
We appreciate your comment, Ed. We pride ourselves on our affordable plans, but we aren’t always the best fit for everyone. Thank you for taking to time to provide us feedback, and we hope you have a great day!
I am paying Consumer Cellular HALF what i paid Verizon with even more minutes!
If using a router to access the internet while having blue-tooth (wireless) on am I being charged for ‘data’ coming into my phone. If the portal is the router I’m sure if I understand the process.
Great question, Michael. If you are using a Wi-Fi router in your home, you can enable Wi-Fi on your phone and save the network information. As long as you have Wi-Fi on, you will access the internet that way without using data from your plan. If you have any questions regarding your data usage or using Wi-Fi, please give us a call at 888-345-5509. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks again!
I am amazed that you were so highly rated on customer service. I am very happy with your plans, or I would no longer be a customer, but in my experience your customer service is atrocious. I had a problem with my phone, though it turned out to be the battery. It took over a week for you to respond to an email, and when I called, the customer person could not offer any information. It took a week and a half for a return to a second email. It should not take that long to respond to a request for information. I expect that if I was requesting information to become a new customer, the response would have been immediate.
In contrast, I decided to call Doro directly, as the manufacturers of the phone. They helped immediately by sending a new battery a no charge. If you cannot stock batteries, you should at least be able to let people know that they are available from teh manufacturer.
We’re sorry you had such a negative experience! We do pride ourselves on our customer service, so we appreciate you taking the time to provide us with feedback. I’ve forwarded your comments on to our management team so that we can use them in training to better ourselves. If you need assistance in the future, please give us a call at 888-345-5509, and we will be happy to address the issue immediately. Thank you again for your comment.
I used to be with sprint, and have nothing good to say about the expierence with them. Kept seeing consumer cellulars commercials on tv all the time. I decided to give tese folks a try, and what a good decision it was. They have great coustomer service and I have “NEVER ” had a problem with dropped calls or data reception. If your looking for a reliable carrier without all the hassle you better check consumer cellular out now. I think you’ll be pleased that you did.
Thank you for that lovely comment, Steve. We’re glad you are having a great experience with us, and we’re happy to have you as a customer.
I’m considering going to CC how do I transfer my ph. # from tracfone to CC,also is The Netherlands included in the voice plan, do you charge extra for over seas calls ?
That is a great question. We can help you transfer your number to our service when you sign up. The important thing to remember is that you should not cancel your old service before you switch, which allows us to transfer the number easily. Our voice plans include calls made in the United States only, but we do offer affordable per minute rates to international countries including The Netherlands. You can learn more about our International Calling at ConsumerCellular.com/Int. If you would like to get started with our service, please give us a call at 888-345-5509, and we will be happy to assist you! Thanks again for commenting.
I have made call after call to customer service and have yet to get a satisfactory answer on how and why I’m being charged “AIRTIME” for calls made to a messaging center out of Santa Barbara , CA. I’m being told that it is the use of VOICEMAIL. The only problem being, is that beginning Feb. 22, 2015, if I receive any voicemail messages, ( got 1), I retrieve them from my home phone number. I was informed that getting them this way, I shouldn’t be charged any minutes. Just looked at the current usage and for one particular day, I have been charged several I minute airtime minutes and a 5 minute airtime minute for that 1 voicemail!!!!! I really need to have someone clear this up A.S.A.P. Thank you. A very unsatisfied new customer.
We appreciate you letting us know, Barb. I can see on your account that this issue is being resolved immediately on our end. We’ll be calling you shortly to explain what we’re doing to rectify the situation. Thank you again for reaching out to us, and please don’t hesitate to call us if have any questions or need assistance.
I just wanted to follow up with you after your conversation with Hollie today. We’re so glad the issue has been resolved, and please let us know if you need anything else. Thanks!
I just switched from T-Mobile to Consumer Cellular and so far have zero complaints, just loving my lower cost cell phone bill. Sure wish I’d done this a long long time ago!!!
Very unsatisfying experience with CC recently. With previous phone, never able to text photos. OK, I had an older phone I bought used so just emailed photos. Recently, got an open box CC Moto G phone, ordered SIM card: never received it because CC dropped order so had to go to Target and buy one. OK, G working fine, very nice phone, except … what else? couldn’t text photos. Spent 1+ hr on phone w/ CC support: no fix (but could still use G for everything else – net, texting, phone). Another call, another hr w/ CC support – now no net except w/ wifi. CC’s solution? ‘Buy a new phone’ … from CC! Oy vey. How about some some help for a long-time customer w/ family plan? If not, time for new cell provider, I guess.
Thank you for commenting, Gary. I just wanted to follow up with you on this issue, and I was glad to see that we were able to get a new phone on its way to you. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. Thanks again!
Fortunately I was able to return the CC open box phone I bought. If not, I would have been stuck w/ a phone that was not fully functional though a CC phone! I think that your advertising to use your own phone is not a simple matter, and should be noted for consumers.
Thank you for the feedback! We do try to make sure our customers know that while most unlocked, GSM phones work well with our service, some may not work as well as others with our service. We’re glad that you were able to get this issue resolved. Have a great night!
so far my service with cc is great and the customer service helped me fast to change my number I like cc better than any prepaid phones cause its easy to adjust if im almost over my time ,data or text had a 600 min plan checked today the minutes went up to 750 for the same price as my 600 so they just added or changed the plan anyway it made me very happy to see 750 for twenty dollars instead of the 600 I had the last month to me this is a great deal
Love your service. Since you’re marketing us older folk, why doesn’t the phone have symbols, like number of bars of service, large enough to see without a magnifying glass?
Great question, Ronald. We do offer the Doro 618, which has larger type and symbols for our feature phone users. For our smartphone customers, our Vision 2 and Ascend Mate 2 have a special “Easy Mode” which does allow you to make icons and type larger and easier to read. If you would like to learn more about these phone options, just give us a call at 888-345-5509. Thank you again for the question!
Right on my friend. Luckily I just had second cataract removed so I can allllmmmmmosssstttt see those miniature icons.
I am not a customer, but I am reviewing various phone plans. I’m not sure why why the Top Customer Satisfaction Rating is given by Nielsen only because most of the reviews i’m reading are negative.
Thank you for the comment, Ralph. We are very proud of our Top Customer Satisfaction Rating, and we work hard to address each customer who reaches out to us here. If you have any questions about our service or ratings, we’ll be happy to answer them at 888-345-5509. Thank you!
My wife and I first got cell phone service in 2004. At that time, it was AT&T Wireless. After our two year contract was up, we switched to T-Mobile as they were a better deal at that time. We never had any problems with AT&T or T-Mobile. After being with T-Mobile for eight years, we switched to Consumer Cellular. CC is by far the best cell phone provider we have had. Their web site clearly breaks down their voice and data plans. If you can read English, you can understand how their plans work. My apologies, but if you say that you did not understand their plans, you must have bigger issues. My wife and I went through the trouble of unlocking our old T-Mobile smart phones. Consumer Cellular techs worked with me over the phone to re-configure our old T-Mobile smart phones so that they would work on CC’s network. This was done free of charge. Later, we decided to replace our old T-Mobile smart phones with some nice Motorola smart phones sold at a CC kiosk in a Sears store. We had paid $400.00 each for our old T-Mobile smart phones. Our new CC smart phones were only $150.00 each and they are the best phones we have ever had. I can get an 18% discount on AT&T cell phone service through my employer. Despite this, CC is still cheaper. We will probably never leave CC and we will (and do) recommend it to everyone we know.
This post is a response to Ralph R…
Ralph,
Please do not doubt that Consumer Cellular is top rated in Customer Service and overall satisfaction. I think the reason you are seeing all of these complaints is because the majority of people are quick to tell you what you are doing wrong (or what they perceive you are doing wrong), but can’t be bothered to take the time to tell you when you are doing right. I do not work for CC. I am a 40-year old American male who has had cell phone service since the early 2000s. I can honestly tell you that CC is the best cell phone service provider I have ever had. If you switch to them, you will not be sorry.
I have my own phone. I want to open an acct with CC but I don’t know if my phone is compatible. Also, what is a GSM phone ? How can I get an old phone unlocked to use with your plans ? Please respond soon.
We would love to have you as a customer, Pete. If you have a phone that was previously used with AT&T or T-Mobile, it is generally a good fit with our service. We can help you determine if your phone will work and if it is unlocked, just give us a call at 888-345-5509. We can walk you through the process and help you get started with service in no time. Thank you for commenting!
just curios what towers do cc use for your phone service
Thank you for reaching out to us, Buddy. We operate on both the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. If you have any questions about coverage in your area, please give us a call at 888-345-5509. We can look at the coverage in your area. Thank you!
I am considering trying CC. I have my own unlocked phone, Lumia 635. Will it work with CC? Also I note on that on most of the data plans there is a 25c charge for each web megabyte. Won’t that add up to a lot of money for an active web user? Or I am I reading the fine print incorrectly?
We would love to have you as a customer, Howard. If you have the GSM version of the Lumia 635, we can send you one of our SIM cards and get you started. As for the overage charges, we allow our customers to change their plans as often as they need, even up to the last day of their billing cycle. That way they can avoid overage charges, and most end up saving money that way. We also offer complimentary Usage Alerts, so we will let you know if you are approaching the limits of your plan. If we can answer any questions for you about our service, please give us a call at 888-345-5509. We’ll be happy to assist you!
Which cellular networks does CC piggyback?
Thank you for asking, Betsey. We offer coverage on the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. If you have any questions about coverage in your area, we can take a look at that for you. Just give us a call at 888-345-5509, and we’ll be happy to assist! Thanks again for the comment.
I am sooooooooooo happy that I switched to CC!! I should have done it long time ago! THANKS!
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/consumer_cellular.html
I saw the post where Ashley says she’s proud of CC’s Top Customer Satisfaction Rating, but I don’t see anywhere where you address the complaints on the website I listed. Any comments for a prospective customer?
Thank you so much for commenting, Joe. We appreciate hearing feedback from customers, and find platforms such as our website and our blog to be very helpful in that communication and in addressing any questions they may have.
As you know, there are many review sites on the internet. With all the options out there, we prefer to focus on feedback we receive from reputable sources such as the Better Business Bureau. We are indeed proud of the positive ratings we’ve been awarded from a variety of trusted organizations such as PC Magazine, Nielsen and Consumer Reports. Top-rated customer service is the driving force of our business, and we do everything we can to make sure our customers have a positive experience with us.
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks Joe!
I’m having a terrible time with no or very limited service! I know I was in a area that wasn’t the best but really, I’m between the two largest cities in New Hampshire and have very limited service. Today I’ve had none! Very disappointed with consumer cellular today!
We’re sorry for the frustration, Anita. If you are having difficulties with your service, we recommend you power your phone off and turn it on again so that it can reconnect with the towers. I don’t see any outages in your area, but if you are continuing to have coverage issues, please give us a call at 888-345-5509. We can adjust some settings on our end as well as some settings on your phone so that this issue can be resolved. We appreciate you letting us know, and we appreciate your patience.
I’ve been a CC customer for more than a year and recently upgraded my plan to include the other members of my family because I’ve liked your plans, service and business philosophy. In the process, I upgraded my personal flip phone to a Motorola Moto G smart phone which I’ve been using for almost a month now. I’ve been happy with this phone until I tried to activate the hotspot feature. When I spoke to the CC support team about this issue yesterday, they said that other phones (such as the iphone) had the hotspot feature and that I could exchange my phone (and pay the price difference).
I’m annoyed by this whole sequence of events since I feel that CC led me to believe that I was purchasing a standard Moto G. Even if I decide to change my phone, I’ve been through a hassle already that could have been avoided (multiple calls to customer support and Motorola), and will waste additional time making the switch to a different phone. One of the reasons I switched to CC was to avoid sleazy stuff like this.
Thank you for posting, Bob. We apologize for any frustration. I’m glad that Hollie was able to get in touch with you via email and help you with this issue. Thank you again for bringing it to our attention, and please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.
I’ve previously asked when ID caller’s name or company can be provided (in addition to the phone#). This is the the second posting and so far nothing. I would gladly pay a few dollars extra for the service, this is very important to seniors who do not readily recognize caller’s phone numbers
Thank you for the post, Gilberto. We do currently offer Caller ID, but we can only show the information provided by the other carriers and services. There are some Caller ID apps available, so we recommend seeing if one of those would provide you with the information you would like. We appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us, and we hope you have a great day!
Last September I switched over from another carrier to Consumer Cellular. The monthly cost was HALF with even more minutes. Only downside was that I no longer had free calls on weekends. But now that my minutes have been more than doubled, I have no problem with minutes. I have told many, many people about the great and friendly service (in English as first language) when calling IN THE PAST. When I recently inherited an apple phone to replace my Samsung droid which I couldn’t adjust to, I have made several calls to Consumer Cellular and NEVER had call answered without over 15 minutes on hold!!! This is so disappointing as previously phones were answered immediately and issues solved quickly by very helpful staff. I hope you will solve this very big customer service issue.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Donna. We certainly apologize for the long wait time, and we understand your frustration. We are actively hiring more customer representatives to handle our call volume so that this doesn’t happen in the future. I see that you were able to work with Aaron, our customer support team member, and that he was able to help you with your new phone. If there is anything else we can do for you at this time, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We appreciate your feedback, and we’re so glad to have you as a customer. Thank you!
My wife and I have been long time customers of Consumer Cellular.
Our Cell phones have been working Great!
In the past week, we began having problems with Mobile Data. I contacted Consumer Cellular Service on my phone this morning and was assisted by Anita and her Supervisor Robert located in Arizona. Anita provided Excellent trouble shooting and then connected me with her Supervisor Robert. Robert then completed my request to get my wife’s and I cell phones working again on Mobile Data.
We are both extremely impressed with the Excellent Service provided by Anita and Robert!
We look forward to continuing business with Consumer Cellular and will continue to recommend you to our Family, Friends and Acquaintances!
Thank You Very Much,
Susan and John
Hi John, thank you for taking the time to post about this experience! I have taken your kind words and passed them on to our agents so that they can be acknowledged for a job well done. Have a great day!